Method of making plaiting



March 31, 1942. Q SEAMAN 2,277,723 METHOD OFMAKING PLEATINGS I Original Filed Oct. 4, 1959 SSheetS-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR.

. CHARLES SEAMAN BY ATTORNEY March 31, 1942. c. SEAMAN 2,277,723

METHOD OF MAKING PLEATINGS ori inal Filed Oct. 4, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 19 I CHARLES 5EAMAN A TTOR/VEX Marcia 31, 1942. c. SEAMAN I I 2,277,723

METHOD OF MAKING PLEATINGS Original Filed Oct. .4, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 68 63 I 1 INVENT Ova/e4 55 SEA MAN Q M/ A T TORNE )6 Patented Mar. 31, 1942 2,277,723 METHOD oF MAKING PLAITING Charles Seaman, Jamaica Estates, N. Y.

Original applications (ic tober l, 1939, Serial No. 297,843, and March 16, 1940, Serial No. 324,267. Divided and this application February 28, 1941,

Serial No. 381,021

' 8 Claims. 491. 112-26 terial is thus advanced, successively spaced folds 1 extending transversely of the material are formed therein. During the further advance of the folded material, the ends of the folds are retracted from the paths of the needles, whereby a row of stitches extends along each side edge of v the material. It is to be noted that the stitches do not penetrate the folds but span or bridge, and at the same time embrace, said folds at the bases thereof.

In the preferred plaiting the folds have a puffed effect. This is secured by utilizing a plaiting blade having means forming a pocket in which the folds extend during the plaiting operation.

In one embodiment of the invention, retraction of the ends of the folds is secured by means provided on the presser foot. Specifically, and as will hereafter more fully appear, the retraction of the folds from the paths of the needles is effected by a pair of oppositely disposed bosses carried by the presser foot and extending over a longitudinal opening provided in the presser foot and through which the plaiting material is fed.

In one embodiment of the invention, the plaiting material prior to plaiting and stitching is subjected to a folding operation whereby the raw side edges are folded rearwardly and onto the under surface of th material.

The nature of the product, and particularly the form and shape of the folds having the puffed effect, depend on the nature of the material which constitutes the plaiting. When the plaiting material consists of a material which is somewhat loose and soft, so that it is deformed by the action of the plaiting blade as the latter engages and advances the central portion thereof, there is produced spaced plaits or folds having the puffed effect, the ends of which are inclined rearwardly and the front thereof is concave or has a re-entrant angle. When the folded material is made of a relatively stiff fabric, the plaiting blade will advance the material uniformly across its entire width, with the result that the folds take the form of a series of upstanding or inclined tubular rolls extending transversely of the material. When a fiat braid is utilized, the

folds extend beyond the side edges of the stitched braid and have a re-entrant angle at the front thereof.

Though in the preceding embodiments of the invention a material was described as being folded and stitched at both of its longitudinal edges, the invention is equally applicable when only one longitudinal edge is folded and stitched. Such an embodiment is particularly utilized With a relatively stiff material.

The folds may be spaced as desired. They may be evenly spaced or they may be variably spaced.

In order to more fully explain the invention, there will hereafter be described an illustrative apparatus for carrying out the method and producing the plaited material.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an illustrative sewing machine for carrying out the method according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof with parts broken away to show the plaiting mechanism;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the sewing machine taken from the right-hand side of Figures 1 and 2, showing the driving mechanism;

Figure 4 is a detail view showing the cam mechanism and the means for supporting the same;

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the needle, plaiting blade and folder;

Figure 6 is a detail view of the plaiting blade; Figure '7 is a detail view of the presser foot;

Figure 8 is a section taken on the line 8--8 of Figure 5 showing the relative position of the plaiting blade and presser foot prior to stitching the plait;

Figure 9 is a similar sectional View showing the relative position of the plaiting blade and presser foot after the plait has received a stitch;

Figure 10 is a plan view of one embodiment of a folded plaiting embodying the principles of this invention;

. Figure 11 is a section taken on the line II-l'l of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a plan View of another embodiment of a folded plaiting embodying the principles of this invention;

Figure 13 is a section taken on the line 13-13 of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a top plan view illustrating a further embodiment of the invention; and 1 Figure 15 is a section taken on the line Ill-l5 of Figure 14. 7 Referring to the drawings more in detail, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts, the reference numeral HI designates a sewing machine head mounted upon a base H. The head i carries the usual presser foot bar l2 and a vertically reciprocating needle bar l3, and is provided with suitable driving mechanism therefor actuated by a rotating drive shaft i4 driven by a pulley 5. The needle bar 13 carries a pair of needles l6 adapted to produce a pair of parallel rows of stitches in the material or materials fed into the path of travel of the needles. Feed dogs [9 provide means for feeding the material or materials to and from the path of travel of the needles. A two-needle sewing machine of the above type is of standard construction, and only so much thereof is shown and described herein as is necessary to an understand ing of the present invention.

A bracket I! is attached to the sewing mal chine head H] by suitable means, shown as screws l8 (Figures 4 and 5). This bracket I1 is provided with a bearing 25, in which is journaled a rock shaft 2| carrying an oscillating arm 22. A pin 23 (Figures 2 and 5) is secured to the arm 22 by a set screw 24. A plaiting blade 25 is attached to a bracket 26 which is pivoted on the pin 23. The blade 25 is held in contact with the plaiting material by a spring 21 as it is reciprocated by the arm 22. The plaiting blade carries at its free end a finger 23 (Figures 5 and 6) which forms therewith a pocket in which the fold of material extends when the blade is actuated, as will be described.

The rock shaft 2| also carries a cam follower 33 having an inclined cam surface 34 (Figure 2) A spring 35 (Figure 2) may be positioned between a collar 36 attached to the bracket ll and the cam follower 33 for holding the cam follower in engagement with a cam 48, to be described.

The cam follower 33 is actuated by axial movement of a cam 40 having a beveled cam surface 4|. The cam 40 is shown as mounted on a push-rod 42, one end of which is journaledin a bearing 43 in the bracket H. The other end of the push-rod 42 is slidably held in a bracket 54 which is attached to the sewing machine head if! by a screw (Figures 1-3).

The bracket 44 carries a frame 45 in which is journaled a shaft 4'! having a cam 8 at one end thereof and having at its other end a worm gear 49 meshing with a worm 52 attached to the drive shaft M. The cam 48 is positioned to engage the end of the push-rod 42 for causing axial movement thereof. The rod 52 may be held in contact with the cam 48 by means of a spring 5| which may extend between the bracket I! and a collar 53 attached to said rod 42. The above-described drive mechanism is described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 297,842, filed October 4, 1939. The apparatus herein described is a special embodiment of the invention set forth in said copending application applied to a two-needle sewing machine for making the novel type of plaiting. It is to be understood that an adjustable stop may be attached to the push-rod 42, as shown in said application, to permit adjustment of the throw of said push-rod.

The presser foot bar l2 carries a presser foot 55 having a longitudinal opening 55 (Figures 7, 8 and 9) formed between inner walls 51. The opening 56 is of a width corresponding to that of the plaiting material and serves as a guide therefor during stitching. The presser foot 55 is also provided with a pair of bosses 58 which extend inwardly from the walls 51 above the surface of the presser foot and have needle apertures 59 through which the needles it pass in stitching. The bosses 58 serve to hold the ends of the plaits out of the path of the needles, as will be described.

The presser foot 55 also carries a guide and folder 60 which may be adapted to fold under the side edges SI of a strip of plaiting material 62 so as to form a two-ply ribbon with the raw edges abutting in the lower ply. The folder 60 may, however, take other forms. It may, for example, be designed to merely fold under the raw side edges to form hems along the sides of the strip of material, or, if the edges are already finished, the folder may constitute a guide only to guide the material without folding. In any case, the folder Gil is positioned to guide the material 62 to the opening 56 in the presser foot 55. A tensioning gate 64 may be provided to ,hold the plaiting material 62 under the required tension. A layer of fabric 63, to which the plaiting material 62 is to be stitched, is fed to the path of the needles l6, beneath the presser foot 55, by suitable guides and feed dogs, not shown.

The arangement is such that the plaiting material is fed with the fabric 63 by the feed dogs l9 to the needles for stitching. The reciprocating plaiting blade advances the plaiting material 62 to the needles in a plurality of successive and spaced folds 65 which form in the pocket 30 beneath the finger 29 of the plaiting blade. These folds 65 are held out of the path of the needles 16' by the bosses 58 on the presser foot so that the rows of stitches 66 pass thereunder along the side edges of the plaiting material 62, as will be later described.

In operation, the rotation of the cam 43. causes the rod 42 to reciprocate. The beveled surface 4| of the cam 40, engaging the cam follower. 33, actuates the rock shaft 2|, thereby oscillating the arm 22 and causing the blade 25 to reciprocate in a direction to engage and advance the plaiting material 62 to the needle in successive folds. When the blade 25 engages the material in its feeding stroke, the material puffs up into the pocket 30. between the blade and the finger 29 so as to form the folds 65. The blade 25 is made narrower than the spacing between the bosses 58 so that it can advance the folds 65 past the stitching position. As the blade and fold approach the stitching position, the needles 1'6 penetrate the plaiting material 62 to form stitches at the base of the fold 65, as shown in Figure 8. The blade 25 then advances the fold past the stitching position while the bosses 58 hold the ends 67 of the folds out of the path of the needles to permit the next stitch to span the base of the fold, as indicated at 68 (Figures 11, 13 and 15), without penetrating the fold itself. When the fold passes the bosses 58, the ends 61 are released and extend laterally over the two rows of stitches 66, as shown in Figures 10, 12 and 14.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 10 and 11, the plaiting material 52 is somewhat soft and loose so that it is deformed by the action of the blade as it engages and advances the central portion thereof. This results in the formation of spaced plaits or folds having a puffed effect, the ends of which are inclined rearwardly so that the front 69 of the plait is concave or has a re-entrant angle.

If the'plaiting material is made of a relatively stiff fabric, the plaiting blade will advance the material'unif'ormly across its entire width. In that event, the folds may take the form of a series of upstanding tubular rolls extending across the material, as shown in Figures 12 and 13.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a flat braid of a width corresponding to the spacing of the needles [6 may be fed to the machine in a position to be actuated by the blade 25. The blade then folds and stretches the braid at each actuation thereof so as to form a puffed fold or plait having characteristics shown in Figures 14 and 15. In this embodiment, the folds extend beyond the side edges of the stitched braid and have a re-entrant angle at the front thereof.

In a further embodiment, the material may be folded at one edge only or one needle may be removed to form a puffed plaiting having one side folded and secured, as shown in Figure 10, but with the other side unstitched.

It is to be noted that the stitches between the folds are in a straight line and do not extend or project beyond the edge of the plaiting material. embrace or contact the ends of the folds adjacent the bottom thereof.

It is obvious that, by changing the manner of folding the material and by changing the condition of the material itself, various effects may be obtained. In certain instances, the fabric 63 may be replaced by paper, which may be subsequently removed from the stitched material to provide strip plaiting.

Although certain embodiments of the invention have been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of various uses and that changes and modifications may be made therein as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art. Certain specific terms are used herein for convenience in referring to certain details of the invention. The invention, however, is not to be limited thereby, but is only to be limited in accordance with the scope of the following claims.

This application is a division of my 'copending applications Serial No. 297,843, filed October 4, 1939, and Serial No. 324,267, filed March 16, 1940.

I claim:

1. A method of producing plaiting which com prises advancing a strip of plaiting material to at least one vertically reciprocating needle for receiving a row of stitches at least at one side edge thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of the needle passes through said strip of plaiting material, forming spaced folds in said material and retracting the ends of said folds from the path of the needle as they are advanced to the path of travel of said needle, whereby the row of stitches extends along the said side edge of the material but does not penetrate the folds.

2. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises advancing a strip of plaiting material to at least one vertically reciprocating needle for receiving a row of stitches at least at one side edge thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of the needle passes through said strip of plaiting material, forming spaced puffed folds in said material and retracting the ends of said folds from the path of the needle as they are advanced to the path of travel of said needle, whereby the row of stitches extends along the said side edge of the material and spans the puffed folds at the base thereof without penetrating said puffed folds.

The stitches which span the folds also 3. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises advancing a" strip of plai'ting material to a pair of spaced vertically reciprocatin'g needles for receiving rows of stitches at the opposite side edges thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of each' needle passes through said strip of plaiting material, formingspaced puflfed folds in said material and retracting the ends of said folds from the paths of the needles as they are advanced to the paths of travel of said needles, whereby a row of stitches extends along each side edge of the material but does not penetrate the puffed folds.

4. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises advancing a strip of plaiting material to a pair of spaced vertically reciprocating needles for receiving rows of stitches at the opposite side edges thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of each needlepasses through said strip of plaiting material, forming spaced puffed folds in said material and retracting the ends of said folds from the paths of the needles as they are advanced to the paths of travel of said needles, whereby a row of stitches extends along each side edge of the material and spans the puffed folds at the base thereof without penetrating said puffed folds.

5. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises feeding a strip of plaiting material and a base material to which the plaiting is to be stitched to a vertically reciprocating needle for receiving a row of stitches at least at one side edge thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of the needle passes through said strip of plaiting material, forming spaced puffed folds in said plaiting material as it is advanced to the path of travel of the needle, holding the ends of said puffed folds from the path of travel of the needle during the stitching operation whereby the stitches span the puffed folds at the base thereof without penetrating the puffed folds.

6. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises feeding a strip of plaiting material and a base material to which the plaiting is to be stitched to a pair of spaced vertically reciprocating needles for receiving a row of stitches at each opposite side edge thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of the needles passes through said strip of plaiting material, forming spaced puffed folds in said plaiting material as it is advanced to the paths of travel of the needles, and holding the ends of said puffed folds from the paths of travel of the needles during the stitching operation whereby the stitches span the puffed folds at the base there of without penetrating the puffed folds.

7. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises feeding a strip of plaiting material and a base material to which the plaiting is to be stitched to a vertically reciprocating needle for receiving a row of stitches at least at one side edge thereof and wherein each penetrating thrust of the needle passes through said strip of plaiting material, forming spaced puffed folds in said plaiting material as it is advanced to the path of travel of the needle, and retracting the ends of said puffed folds from the path of the needle during the stitching operation, whereby the stitches span the puffed folds at the base thereof without penetrating the puffed folds.

8. A method of producing puffed plaiting which comprises feeding a strip of plaiting material and a base material to which the plaiting the needles, and retracting the ends of said folds from the paths of the needles during the stitching operation, whereby the stitches span the pufied folds at the base thereof without penetrating the pufied folds.

CHARLES SEAMAN. 

